Friday, March 26, 2010

Small Steps Versus Canyons

A common theme I've been noticing in my thoughts has to do with small steps versus canyons. To explain the metaphor: I am told by many that you need to take small steps to see growth, improvement and change. I'm told this with the health care bill. I'm told this at work. I'm told this by almost every rational person I know.

But I'm not rational, I'm a Romantic.

Contrasting this is a phrase I learned about a year ago: "You can't take small steps across a canyon." I heard this phrase at a "Designing for Bicycles" workshop. Sometimes, the best thing to do when re-designing, and re-thinking something is to break with the past and start completely fresh.

This appeals to my sense of the Romantic, but I fear jumping across a canyon and landing someplace where I don't want to be. So when is "canyon hopping" appropriate? When should I accept small changes that don't do enough?

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